coral placement

[Anonymous]

I'm in need of some help.

I just got some new frags for my build off tank and I'm not too sure about placement > from each other.

New corals are:
Galaxia fascicularis
Caulastrea furcata
Tubipora musica
Heliopora coerulea
Euphyllia paradivisa
Euphyllia glabrescens
Euphyllia anchora

 

[Sugar Magnolia]

Galaxia fascicularis Very long sweeper tentacles. Keep it in a low flow area to minimize the tentacle formation. It's actually not a good choice for a nano because it requires a good bit of space between it and other corals.

Caulastrea furcata Moderate current and moderate lighting.

Tubipora musica Moderate light, moderate flow.

Heliopora coerulea Prefers stong lighting and current, but will tolerate moderate levels of both.

Euphyllia paradivisa, Euphyllia glabrescens, Euphyllia anchora Moderate light and lower flow areas. They will also form longer sweeper tentacles if placed in a higher flow environment.

Obviously, the ones that tend to put out sweepers need to be given plenty of room.

 

[brandon4291]

Good calls Magnolia. Also, consider the idea of making adjustments to your landscaping to account for these polyp (sweeper) issues, that works well sometimes but not all the time depending on flow and other issues, it's at least something to consider. For example, I've meticulously built up sweeper-preventative LR walls, single rubble bits at a time superglued together, to prevent Frogspawn sweepers from contacting blastomussa and zoanthid colonies...I have also used the plastic found on toy-figurine (star-wars, barbie toys for the kids) boxes for sweeper-walls as well. You know, finding the right curve in the plastic and then cutting out a wedge and gluing it next to the offending coral. This is unnatural, but works well because the plastic goes totally see-through underwater. It's just fun to try alternate approaches in nano stocking issues

 

[bgoode]

You could also place the galaxia against the glass so the flow blows the sweepers against the glass, away from any other corals.

 

[Anonymous]

Yah, I knew the Euphyllia's had sweepers, but I sure didn't know about the Galaxia!

Thanks................. 8)

 

[Rikko]

In my experience Euphyllia glabrescens is by far the nastiest of the family. I've never noticed the presence of sweepers on any of them (I'm either lucky or they come out after 4am) but the Torch has a nasty sting from the "normal?" tentacles. I frequently get horrible outbreaks on my forearms from when my little bugger attacks me while cleaning the glass (and of course I don't notice it until I'm already being devoured).

I've never noticed much in the way of aggression from the Caulastrea either.

 

[brandon4291]

Interestingly, while we are talking about euphyllids I'd like to mention a neat observation. At one time in the reefbowl I had a medium hammer, frogspawn and torch all touching each other in sequence and they stayed like this for almost a year before restockings changed the layout...I had read that members of this family (not even sister colonies, just members of the same family) are often tolerant to each other's stinging tendencies and found this to be quite accurate as I watched the system mature. As a pure guess, I wondered if adding the specimens one at a time several days apart had anything to do with the apparent sensitization...it was a monetary reason to wait (never wanted to drop $75 all at once on euphyllias) but it may have also played a larger pico-suiting role.

However, when I tried to replicate this in the .5 gallon, the tiny hammer head always stings the hound of it's neighbor frogspawn and has caused it to recede... euphyllids appear to have some sort of preference in how they use their sweepers, I'd like to re-read into Eric Borneman's book to find out what signals set this preference.

It was neat because in the larger reefbowl they intermingled sweepers all day long and suffered no consequence...all three corals. in the next experiment they had to be placed far apart (relatively speaking) to keep from killing each other

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Brandon That's some useful info.

Most of the corals have been placed, but glued. I still want to work on the rock scaping befor I do that.

 

[SnowManSnow]

I have a nice Galaxia.. its beautiful.. but DEADY.. DA DA DUUUUMMM (music). It will be fine.. you can even keep it in a high flow area as long as you keep it DOWN current from your other things. The tenticles won't go agaist the current. Mine is in fairy close proximity to other corals, but theyve been fine cause they are up current

Just an idea.
B.

 

[Anonymous]

That is interesting Brandon...I wondered about that myself..I was affraid of getting my Torch next to my hammer..Both are dead now so water under the bridge but next time i get some E. glabersens and E. ancora, ill give it a try putting them next to eachother(in my 20gal not the pico)...

 

[Rikko]

However, when I tried to replicate this in the pico reef .5 gallon, the tiny hammer head always stings the hound of it's neighbor frogspawn and has caused it to recede! So, nothing I guess is absolute as they say, euphyllids appear to have some sort of preference and control in how they use their sweepers, who knows what controls what in the preference (I'll bet Eric Borneman knows )_

That was my experience as well. My torch did some serious damage to my branching hammer.

 

[brandon4291]

I never noticed this but my avatar is a good pic of the touching event...look at how the hammer and frogspawn touch on the fringes and stay fully extended each day.

This picture below is the closest one I could find of the plastic polyp wall. Look on the very left, on the dim side of the picture and at the top you can see a $5 chip of an orange/brown pagoda coral. Below it roughly one inch is a frogspawn head, where a rough white line is discernable. This is the superglue crust holding the ridge line of a plastic trim wall I cut from a toy package for my daughter, the plastic is only visible if the light refracts just right... When the corals are recessed at night, the plastic is easily seen but in the day the frogspawn completely overtakes it and almost covers up the pagoda, but they don't touch.

 

[4wheelin69]

Brandon we need to hook up some time, I am the other Brandon in Lubbock.I would love to check out your tanks. Let me know what you think, pm me some time.

 

[brandon4291]

Gladly! How funny I meet a local friend just when I have the fewest running systems...this reef above is in need of dire repair because I have let micoalgae grow inside out of sheer pruning/water change laziness, we'll get together soon, nice to hear from you.

B

 

[SnowManSnow]

Hey..
My name is Brandon TOOO!!!

HAHA

 

[Anonymous]

my pico has gone to crap..im gonna get a larger tank around a gallon or 2.5 gallon..this tiny acrylic guy is way hard to keep up..I also need some small snails which i cant find locally and dont want to pay an arm and a leg for less then a half a dozen snails :roll: